


i keep you with me in my heart

by andidmarrylarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Christmas!fic, Fluff, M/M, growingup!fic, literally nothing but fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-16 13:01:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2270715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andidmarrylarry/pseuds/andidmarrylarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis and Harry have been friends from the very beginning but have probably always been more than that. Merry Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i keep you with me in my heart

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a self indulgent growing up fic because those are my absolute favorite and a major thanks to tumblr user theemmed because this was their prompt and would not have happened without their permission. Also thanks to tumblr user livinlavidalouis2285 (jordan) for betaing. the title is from lucky by jason mraz and colbie calliat. hope you like it

Harry’s first Christmas and Louis is 2 years old-

“Louis, Harry and Anne are coming over later, ok? I know you love him a lot, but be gentle, he’s just a baby.”

“I know mum, I know. Is he gonna be here for my birthday and Christmas? Is he gonna stay? Pleeeeeaaase?”

“Yes love, he and Anne will stay in the guest room and we get to spend four whole days with them.” Johanna winked at the small boy and watched him scurry off to the window facing the road bouncing on his on his knees excitedly. He waited patiently for the red car with the dent in the passenger door that he had come to know and love within the past ten months.

His grin was as bright as the Christmas lights adorning the tree as the red car rolled up his driveway. He let out a small squeal and ran to the door, slipping and falling on the hard wood floor thanks to his fuzzy Christmas socks. He pulled himself quickly off the floor and yanked open the door so Anne could step out of the snow with the car seat in her hand. It always befuddled Louis how a tiny human was strapped in there. Was he carried like that when he was just a baby? He thinks that it looks pretty convenient and he might like to try it now. He makes a mental note to ask his mum about it before coming back to earth and realizing that his mum and Anne had moved into the kitchen with Harry in tote.

He follows them into the warmly lit area and sets himself at the kitchen table next to Harry’s highchair, marveling at the small boy’s huge green eyes and uneven tufts of brown curly hair. He watches Anne feed the small boy before running upstairs at his very highest possible speed. He had almost forgotten the present he had gotten harry (his mum had helped since he only had two dollars and seventy six cents in his piggy bank). Grabs the pair of tiny socks that matched his own exactly and runs back down the stairs, another illuminating grin pasted on his face and stands on his tiptoes to whisper in his mums ear.

“Mum, may I please give harry his Christmas present early?” he cupped his small hand around her ear. She looked to him and nodded and he pulled the small socks out from behind his back. He began to coo at harry.

“Harry, these socks are for you and they match mine. Since we are best friends, I think we should have matching socks and these ones have little penguins on them so I think they are good.” He reached out and peeled the little blue socks of the baby’s unimaginably small, chubby feet and put on the new ones. He then reached out and rubbed a finger down the boy’s soft cheek, before placing a sweet kiss there. The younger boy let out a giggle and Louis eyes lit up. He looked to his mum, then to Anne, then back to his mum, his mouth wide open. “I made him laugh! Did you guys hear it? He laughed because of me!” Louis exclaimed enthusiastically before adding, “This is the best early birthday-Christmas present ever in the entire universe.”

 

  
Harry 5 and Louis turning 7-

“Harry is here! Harry is here!” Louis bellowed from his usual watch position at the front window of his house. He grins and waves as he watches a small boy with the unruly curls run out of his car clad in mittens and a scarf and a red winter coat. Louis pulls the door open and the boys hug each other as if they hadn’t seen each other in years (it had been a month and a half). Anne followed behind with a few gifts in her arms and stepped around the embracing boys to set them down under the tree before hugging Johanna hello and stepping into the kitchen for coffee.

The two boys raced up to Louis’ room giggling and pushing each other before throwing themselves onto his bed in a fit of laughter. Today was Louis birthday, but they weren’t going to celebrate just yet because tomorrow was Christmas. Besides, they didn’t have the time because they had to plan for how they were going to catch Santa Clause, and that would take a while. Louis pulled out a box of crayons and drew a crude map of his house on yellow paper. It was a mess of crooked lines but to the younger boy, it was the most amazing drawing ever. Louis took the lead drawing a path from Louis room, where they would be put to bed, down to the living room, where the Christmas tree and chimney were. He told harry how they would have to wait till their mums went to bed because otherwise they would be caught and then the plan wouldn’t work. Harry nodded seriously. He completely agrees with Louis because Louis is Louis and he’s pretty much never wrong.

“Oh Hazza, I almost forgot!” Louis shouted before animatedly hitting his own forehead and running to his dresser. From the bottom drawer he pulled out matching pajama sets, one red with a green Christmas tree on it, and the other green with a red ornament on it. “How could I possibly forget our matching pajamas, Haz?” Louis gasped imagining the idea of a Christmas spent without some matching article of clothing to remind everyone that he and harry were best friends. The two boys put on the soft pajamas and pulled out the pillows and blankets they would need to sneak down stairs. Harry giggled as Louis got distracted from the planning and wrapped Harry up in a blanket burrito, so he couldn’t get away when he began to tickle his neck.

“Lou, Lou! St-top” Harry laughed breathlessly, his face bright red. Anne and Johanna soon tucked them snuggly into Louis bed, side by side and told them to go to sleep right away, because if they weren’t up early, the two mothers would open all their presents. The two boys giggled an incredulous ‘NO!’ simultaneously as their mums walked out the door. They turned to face each other and Louis told Harry that since he was in first grade and he knew how to read a clock, that it was eight thirty and when the clock said nine-zero-zero o’clock, they would drag their blankets downstairs and set up camp. The boys talked for half and hour, Louis telling harry about his friends at school (none were his best friend, that’s you, Harry don’t be silly), and Harry telling Louis about how they might get a kitty at his house if he promises never to pull its tail.

Soon enough the boys tip toed out of bed and with a blanket and pillow in each of their arms and Louis held a finger to his mouth, signaling the younger boy to be quiet as he checked the mothers’ rooms. Both of their lights were off, so they continued down the steps. Their bare feet stuck to the hard wood floor until they hit the carpet of the living room, which was bathed in a warm yellow glow from the white lights on the Christmas tree.

Harry laid their blankets on the floor carefully, switching his and Louis blankets because his was softer, and Louis is pretty and soft, so he needs the softer blanket. Plus, Louis blanket smells like Louis, which Harry is convinced is the best smell in the universe, so really it’s a win-win. Louis crept around the corner into the kitchen and pulled two ginger bread cookies off the counter with a mischievous grin and snuck back into the living room, handing one to Harry.

They placed themselves on their make shift beds facing each other and ate their cookies over whispered conversation.

“Louis, I love you. You are most certainly my bestest friend in the whole world.” Harry whispered, smiling. and Louis couldn’t help but smile too because Harry was two whole years younger than him but already used words like certainly and was so smart and sweet and pretty and beautiful. Louis had heard boys at school talk about girls. About how their dresses and the flowers in their hair made them very pretty and Louis thought that even though Harry doesn’t wear dresses, he would look very pretty with flowers in his hair and he looks very pretty now, too.

“You too, Hazza-bear,” He replied fondly and they continued telling secrets until Harry’s eyes began to droop and Louis pulled him closer. “We’ll get ‘em next year Haz. Go on to sleep.” He pulled Harry closer and ran his fingers through the younger boy’s curls until their breathing fell in sync, and they drifted off together in the light of the Christmas tree.

The two mothers came out, yawning about an hour later, wishing they had more time to sleep before they had to transform into ‘Santa’ and stumbling on to the two boys, tangled together in their matching pajamas, holding hands and snapped a photo before each lifting their own boy back to Louis bed, careful not to detach their hands.

When the two boys were laid down Harry stirred, mumbling, “Sorry we didn’t see Santa, Lou.” Before closing his eyes again and wrapping an arm around the older boy’s waist.

 

  
Harry is 10, Louis turning 12

“Hazza!”

“Boo-bear!” The two best friends ran to each other and hugged tightly.

“Don’t call me that, loser.” Louis joked with the younger boy, regretting the day he had let his mom call him that in front of his friend. “I missed you, man.”

“Missed you too,” Harry replied, dimples showing.

“When did you get so tall? That is not fair; you do not get to be taller than me!” Louis said pulling back from his friend and looking him up and down. Louis took note of his height and his feet getting much too large for the rest of him, but he noticed the bush of brown curls on his head and his bright green saucer eyes and he felt a twinge of something odd in his chest. Harry giggled and his cheeks tinged pink

“Sorry, Lou.” Louis grabbed the younger boy’s hand pulled him up the stairs and into his room. They sat down on the floor and Harry looked into Louis eyes. “Louis, Jarred, from my school, he said Santa isn’t real. Is that true? Mum said it wasn’t, but I don’t really believe her.” Harry looked up at Louis with large eyes and Louis felt bad and a little angry that someone had spoiled it for the younger boy.

“Yeah, Hazza that’s true. Sorry bud.” Louis looked at him with remorseful eyes. “But you still get the gifts anyway.” He tacked on the end with an impish grin and leaned over to pull a box from under his bed. It was wrapped in red paper and ‘Hazza-bear’ was written in swoopy lettering. Harry raised an eyebrow and accepted the gift before setting it down next to him and rolling himself across the carpet to get his bag. From it he pulled a gift wrapped in white Christmas paper.

“You first, Curly.”Louis prompted the younger boy. He nodded and tore open the paper, finding the new video game for the gaming system he had just got from his mum.

“LOU, you didn’t have to do that. It just came out, it probably cost a fortune.” He wrapped his arms around his smaller, older best friend. Louis shook his head.

“No worries Haz, it wasn’t that much.” It actually taken all of the money he had earned raking leaves that fall plus some shoveling money, but he had wanted it to be special, for Harry.

“Oh Louis, I’m sorry, I don’t really have any money. My gift kinda sucks.” He looked at his hands, blushing fiercely.

“Nonsense, Haz.” Louis unwrapped the flat, rectangle shaped gift. When the paper was off he was greeted with a plain black, leather book with the letters ‘H&L’ emblazoned on the front. He opened it and was greeted with pictures as him when he was just a toddler with a green-eyed baby on his lap or on the floor next to him or in matching socks. “That’s you, Hazza-bear,” he said pointing to the baby, “And that’s me,” he pointed to the chubby two-year-old. He had to clear his throat and why were his eyes burning, boys don’t cry at stuff like this. The next handful of pages was covered in pictures, too. He flipped page after page and watched him and his best friend get older together.

“My mum bought the book and helped me find some pictures but I picked them out and glued them all on there.” Harry spoke up nervously as Louis got to the more recent pictures. Finally he reached the end of the covered pages and was greeted with numerous blank ones. He looked curiously at the younger boy and Harry smiled.

“Our story’s not done yet Boo-bear.” He giggled as Louis sprung at him with a huge hug and he fell backward.

“Your gift is so much better than mine, Harry Edward! Make me look like a proper tit why don’t you!” Louis wailed dramatically. “Merry Christmas, I guess.” He pulled back smiling as Harry started to talk again.

“This wasn’t for Christmas Louis; this was for your birthday. You always seem to forget today is your birthday. Everyone is all Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, when today should be all about you.” Harry began to ramble.

“You’re too sweet Haz, I couldn’t have asked for a better bestest friend,” Louis tickled Harry’s side jokingly, but he really meant it. Harry was the best friend anyone could ever ask for.

 

  
Harry is 13 and Louis turning 15-

He’s fucked. Truly and utterly, incurably fucked. He likes boys, for sure, but has also fallen for his thirteen year old best friend, who has grown taller and lanker and dare he say it, hotter. His feet are still too big, causing him to trip often, but during the summer they went swimming and he has surely gotten bigger in all ways imaginable and Louis loves hates it. The younger boy walks through his door in beat up converse and an old sweater that his mum no doubt made him wear and Louis thinks he looks great. This is a problem.

“Hey Lou!” Harry greeted with a wave. Somewhere between then and now they had stopped hugging so much but Louis thinks that’s probably for the better. He leads Harry to his room and plops down on his bed, hanging his head over the edge so he’s upside down and harry set himself criss cross on the floor leaning against the bed next to him. Harry puts his iPod on Louis speaker because that’s always been the agreement. Harry has better music anyway. Before speaking, Harry a little awkwardly hands Louis a box of Red-Hot’s, his favorite candy. It had sort of become a tradition between them. One would stop at a gas station and get a candy for the other, Red-Hot’s for Louis, Starbursts for Harry. Louis finds comfort that even though his little crush has made things feel odd, Harry hasn’t forgotten about him, but gets nervous again when he sees the anxiety on Harry’s face.“So, um, Louis, how’s it going?” Harry asked and Louis furrowed his eyebrows. That was wrong. It was never, like small talk, like that. Never ‘how are you?’ or ‘cold winter we’ve had’. It’s always been ‘I have a new secret to tell you’ or ‘there’s this big problem I need your help with’. This is all wrong.

“What’s wrong, harry?” Louis asks because he’s looking down at his hands and not in Louis eye’s and that’s unacceptable because then Louis can’t see the pretty green. He rolled over and pulled himself off the bed, placing himself next to the other boy. “Seriously.” Harry looked at him with worried eyes and sighed.

“You can’t tell anyone Lou, ‘cause I don’t know what it is, but I know it’s wrong.” He told Louis.

“Of course not. Would never even imagine.” Louis reassured but he could feel his stomach start to churn. What if something was going on? Something serious?

“Louis, everyone in my grade, all my friends, they’re getting girl-friends.” Louis let a small, sad smile slip. Harry was worried that he couldn’t get a girl-friend. As much as it would kill him, Louis could help with that. He would help with anything to get is fun-loving best friend back.

“Harry, I can help you with the girls. Or I can try anyway. I’m sure if we put our heads together, we could figure it ou-

“I don’t want a girlfriend. I think that- that I like boys. Like, like boys and I don’t know what I’m gonna do because there’s this one boy that I think I’m in love with and it’s all wrong because he seems to have no interest in me that way, like just as a friend? Y’know? And this is just not how everything was supposed to go and-“

Louis leaned in and kissed the younger boys red lips, stopping him from rambling. His heart beat against his rib cage and pounded in his ears because even though there’s this other boy that Harry, his Harry, is going on about, he needed to try. Just once. He placed a hand on Harry’s cheek and smiled when he felt Harry start to kiss back. He pulled away after a few seconds and hid his face. “Oh god. Sorry.” Louis rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes and felt his face turn red. He didn’t have to try; he shouldn’t have because now everything’s ruined. What if he never wants to come over again? All these years of friendship you threw out the fucking window Louis, good job.

He looked back up at Harry and Harry’s eyes are saucers. “I guess not.” The younger boy breaks the silence.

Louis looks up through his eyelashes. “What?”

“I guess not. I guess this other boy does have some interest in me. Or his lips do anyway.” Harry giggled at his best friend, whose eyebrows have shot up into his fringe.

“I’m utterly confused, Harold.” Louis admitted weakly.

“Let me clear it up for you,” Harry replies with a little smirk and good lord he’s cute when he does that before leaning in and kissing Louis with even more fervor. The boys’ knees knock as their criss-crossed legs shifted so they were facing each other. Harry’s larger hands rested upon Louis knees and Louis sat there unmoving for a moment, processing how their roles had been so quickly reversed. As it all became clear he took his turn to begin kissing back and eventually it ended.

“God, Lou. Since I was like five I’ve wanted to kiss you. Then it became wrong to want to kiss a boy, but I really don’t think something feeling like that is wrong. No way.”

“Hazza there is absolutely nothing wrong with us. This is too perfect.” Louis said seriously. What he really meant was that Harry is too perfect, and anything that could flush is cheeks and make him smile like that could never be wrong in anyone’s book.

Music stilled played softly in the background as Louis grabbed Harry’s hand before lying down on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Harry followed suit and they talked like they always would, but now with lazily intertwined fingers and puffy lips.

“I’ve always loved you Lou, really truly.” Harry says as his eyes begin to close.

“Not as much as I loved you, Hazza.” Louis added before drifting off right there in the middle of his bedroom rug, his best friend/ boyfriend’s hand in his own.

When the two mothers stumble into Lou’s room to tell them to shut the music down and go to bed, and happen upon their sons, they can’t help but smile because even in their sleep they look happy. Johanna quickly grabs the camera and snaps a picture, leaving the photo on Louis’ desk.

When the boys wake up the next morning, cricks in their neck’s but undeniable bliss in their eyes, they glue the picture in the book right away.

“Told you our story wasn’t over Lou. Just started, I’d think.”

 

  
Harry is 17 and Louis turning 19 -

Harry and Louis wake up at almost the same time as the sun peeks though Louis’ bedroom window, finding the boys tangled in each other on Louis’ bed.

“Happy Birthday Lou.” Harry whispers, eyes still closed. It’s barely dawn but Louis nudges the taller, younger boy.

“Get out of bed Hazza, she’ll be in soon” Louis’ voice was rough with sleep but still considerably higher than Harry’s early morning grumbling.

“M’k.” Harry groaned as he rolled off the bed and onto the floor, lying on the blankets that were abandoned as soon as Louis’ mum was asleep. It’s not like they were gonna have sex with her in the next room, they’re not animals, god. They just liked being next to each other, legs tangled, and cheek to chest.

The two boys lay until the sun streamed completely into the room, never really falling asleep, just dozing. Louis pulled himself out of bed to the bathroom, stepping over Harry. He showered and came back to his room clad in black skinnies and Harry’s cream jumper.

“You’re up, Hazza” he toed at the lanky mass laying across his floor. Harry showered as well and came back to Louis room dressed in his ridiculously tight black skinnies and a plaid button up.

“Hey birthday boy,” he greeted, wrapping his arms around the shorter boy, and resting his chin on the other’s head. “We’re like, extra illegal now. Did you know that? You’re like, a predator or something.”

Louis’ heart squeezed with fondness as Harry joked. He felt like the luckiest boy in the world with Harry’s yeti arms wrapped around him completely and Harry’s heart beating in his ear.

Louis snorted and drew back to place a chaste kiss on Harry’s lips before pulling him out the bedroom and down to the breakfast table. They ate and waved goodbye to Johanna and started towards the door.

“Be back by six boys, dinner with both the families tonight.” Johanna shouted after the couple as the continued towards wherever they planned on getting lost that day.

***

The two boys stepped back into the house and it smelled of apple cinnamon and the turkey that was surely cooking in the oven, like every other year. Harry shook the snowflakes that from his curls and reached to help Louis with his coat (he truly was a gentleman). The shorter boy smiled over his shoulder and kissed the taller’s nose before grabbing his hand – still chilled from outside – and pulled him into the living room where members from both of their families were scattered about. Grandparents and the like occupied the couch and love seat with lame knees and what have you, leaving aunts and uncles, moms and dads, and cousins and siblings to make their space on the floor or folding chairs dragged in from the garage. The tree lit up the corner opposite the fireplace, making the room warm and twinkling and Christmas-y. The two boys found their place on the carpet right in front of the fireplace, waving hellos on their way there.

Louis placed himself in Harry’s lap and leaned back, resting his head on Harry’s shoulder and silently thanked whoever gave him such a wonderful accepting family and such a tall, sweet, boyfriend.

When dinner was finally ready; everyone set themselves at the dining room table with the exception of the residents of the kids table in the kitchen. Harry and Louis made their way to the seats that had been theirs since they could remember, still at the kids table. The youngest of the cousins, Lily, was only four and attached to Harry at the hip while her brother, James, couldn’t leave the cool footie player that was Louis alone so Harry and Louis were mostly occupied at dinner. They exchanged small secret smiles at each other between stories and jokes, reveling in the feeling of being surrounded by the ones they loved most, including each other.

The dinner wrapped up and everyone moved back to their places in the living room, laughing and reminiscing. The gifts were handed out and Harry and Louis watched the littler kids rip open the shiny paper with wide grins on their faces.

“I have a gift for you, just so you know. I’ll, erm, give it to you later.” Harry whispered into Louis’ ear with a shy smile. Louis looked over his shoulder and smiled back, agreeing that it would make the most sense for them to exchange later anyway. So they sit and watch the others open gifts and drink wine and cider and bask in the presence of their loved ones.

Eventually people retreated to their cars or found their places in the Tomlinson household if they planned to stay and the evening quieted along with the flames in the fire place. Johanna began to clean up the paper plates and cups from cookies and snacks before giving the two boys a tired smile and bidding them goodnight, reminding them that if they didn’t get to sleep soon, Santa wouldn’t come. Louis chuckled and hugged his mum and Harry kissed her on the cheek, thanking her for hosting such a wonderful party and they started up the steps.

Harry felt his pocket of his jacket for Louis gift and grabbed the shorter boy’s hand.

“Ready to go?” he asked, a fond smile spread on his face at Louis heavy eyes. “Why don’t you go put on my jumper before we leave, it’s chilly out there innit?”

Louis started quietly up the stairs, reappearing at the top of them in only a few moments with a dark blue jumper on and a red-wrapped rectangle shaped gift in his hand. He gave Harry a tired smile and reached for his hand again but Harry crouched down and lifted Louis on to his back, piggy backing him out the door and through the streets of the neighborhood. After a few minutes of pleasant silence and fluffy snowflakes, they arrived at the small river in Louis’ neighborhood and harry took off his coat, slipping the gift out of the pocket, setting it upon the small bridge for Louis to sit on, before brushing a spot off for himself.

“You go first Boo bear.” He poked Louis in his side, making him giggle and Louis handed over the gift. Harry pulled off the wrapping paper. Inside was a medium sized picture frame that contained a picture of them when they were just boys, maybe around six or seven, running through a sprinkler.

“Take off the back really quick, Hazza, I, um, wrote something on there? For you.” Louis informed Harry and he moved the clasps of the frame, pulling out the snapshot and flipping it over. On the plain white side of the photo, in messy, boyish, Louis-esque hand writing was a note.

Harry-  
You are my best friend and the best person I’ve ever met. I suck with words and I’m a terrible writer but I’m and even worse speaker so I figured I’d give this a shot. I know that I’ve loved you since I was young. So, so young. Too young to know anything about love besides the fact that that’s what I felt for you. I’m so lucky to have grown up with you and to have watched you grow from a cute, polite little boy to a handsome, kind, generous, man. I can’t see me without you and no matter what it’s always going to be me and you. I promise you that.  
-Louis

Harry looked up from the small rectangle of paper with a watery smile and pressed a long kiss to Louis’ forehead.

“I love you so much, you know that, right?” he began, taking Louis’ hand and pulling them so they’re standing. He held Louis’ face, a hand on each cheek. “You were always the most incredible person I knew. I looked up to you and you are the reason I am who I am. I never really wanted to be with anyone else and I still don’t. Don’t freak out because I know that we are still so young but” harry reaches into his jeans pocket and lowers to one knee. “Louis Tomlinson, will you be my husband… someday? We can wait as long as you’d like, at least until I turn 18, obviously,” he quips with a chuckle, “but I want you to know that I’m yours and I want to know that you’re mine.”

Louis hands flew up to his face, covering his mouth as he nodded fervently. “Yes, yes, I love you Haz, of course.”

Harry leaped up and hugged Louis around the waist, putting the silver band onto his finger and spinning him around on the small bridge over the small creek, under the big sky and decided that he had never felt happier before in his entire life. Nothing could measure up to knowing that the most perfect person in the entire universe belonged to him.

 

Harry is 24 and Louis is turning 26. Louis is a kindergarten teacher at the local grade school and Harry just finished studying Musical Theory, hoping to keep with music his entire life-

Harry inhaled and exhaled, squeezing his eyes shut. He reached down and adjusted his tie and cufflinks, trying to find something to do with his hands. Butterflies flitted in his stomach as he thought about the handsome man in the room next door. The one who’s doing the same thing he is right now. The one that he’ll be seeing in approximately thirty seven minutes. The one that he’s marrying today.

He adjusted the white rose boutonniere on his chest and took another deep breath. He paced around the room, looking up at the clock every minute or so, counting down the seconds to the happiest moment of his entire life. The minutes ticked by and he knew that it was his time to make his way to the altar, that the guests were all seated. He stepped out of his room, down the hallway and through the ballroom that the reception would be in and out the doors to the ceremony area. As he walked down the aisle, the path that his wonderful, soon-to-be husband would take very soon, he saw wonderful family and friends in coats, all mixed together. After all these families had been one unit since he could remember. He saw his mother wipe a tear and he sent her a tight smile, fearing that he might cry himself.

He looks over the lake that the guests are all facing and feels the sun on his face, warming him for a second before he remembers to be freezing again and it reminds him of Louis. Everything good in life reminds him of Louis. A breeze blows and a violin begins to play, making his stomach flip spectacularly. This is it. Out the grand doors, and onto the brick path stepped Louis, in a black suit with a white tie, flanked by two of his sisters. They insisted on giving their big brother away and as per usual, Louis couldn’t say no to them, not that he would have wanted to. One of his big smiles lights up his face and crinkles his eyes and every single reason Harry loves that boy comes rushing into his head. Louis reaches the alter and lets go of his sisters’ hands, and the maneuver back to their seats as he steps up.

Harry and Louis face each other and blue meets green. Blue meets green over and over every time they see each other but it never gets old. It never will. The boys, now men, recite their vows without breaking their gaze and place matching bands on each other’s fingers. Each lets a few tears escape but would probably never admit it, and finally it’s time for them to kiss. Harry leans forward but Louis is quicker, dipping him low and kissing him hard. The crowd laughs and Harry’s cheeks turn pink but he smiles against Louis’ lips. That’s the Louis he knows. The one he loves.

Everyone heads back to the reception hall, eats a wonderful meal after hearing charming speeches from Harry and Louis’ friends. The first dance is to Wonderwall, by Oasis, the song that followed them through everything. They whisper into each other’s ears as they sway lovingly in the soft light of the dancefloor.

“Well, Mr. Tomlinson, I guess the cats out of the bag. I kinda like you a little teeny bit.” Louis murmurs.

“I guess that’s good then, Mr. Tomlinson, because I kinda like you a little teeny bit too.” He giggles back. They dance to faster songs and have a good time, Harry dancing with his mum and Louis his. Finally, they step back to the table just to savor the feeling of being a married couple in the presence of all their favorite people. They sit and drink champagne and call each other Mr. Tomlinson some more before Harry pulls out a box of red-hots.

“Don’t think I forgot your birthday.” He says, winking and Louis could cry because he thinks he’s an alright person, marginal at best and how in the world did he get to marry this beautiful boy?  
***  
The next morning as Louis lays wrapped up in the sheets of their hotel room bed, Harry sticks a photo into the black leather book, now weathered and creased, one that someone took last night. Dancing in the Moonlight had just come on (per Louis’ request) and Harry had lifted him to spin him in the air. The moment was captured beautifully, Harry’s dimple shining and Louis’ eyes crinkling as they had a moment on the dance floor. An amazing night neither would forget as long as they lived.

 

Harry is 80 and Louis is turning 82. They’ve had three kids, a boy with blue eyes and curls, a boy with green eyes and bronze fringe and a little girl (who Louis spoils ridiculously) with an eye color somewhere in between her Papa’s and Daddy’s.

 

Harry reaches a weathered hand to his husband and smiles because no matter how many days go by, not one has seen him feel unlucky. They’re sat in front of the picture window in the house that they raised their children and made their life in. Snow falls in front of them and Harry wishes Louis a quiet happy birthday. Louis presses a kiss to his cheek because not once has Harry ever forgotten, not once has he gotten wrapped up in the excitement of winter and Christmas and forgotten.

“I love you, Lou.”

“Right back ‘atcha, Haz”


End file.
